Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries

Title

Business Records Collection

ID

Cage 15

Date [inclusive]

1865-1925

Extent

34.0 volumes.

General Physical Description note

5 linear feet of shelf space.

Language

English

Abstract

Journals, ledgers, cash books, inventories and other account books of general merchants, farmers, saloonkeepers, as well as a hardware merchant, a hotel operator, a farm machinery dealer and a laundry operator, primarily in the State of Washington. Some partially identified, including Knapp, Burrell Co., and Lippitt Brothers.

Preferred Citation note

Scope and Contents note

The Business Record Collection consists of unidentified or partially identified journals, cash books, ledgers, inventories and other account books kept by general merchants, farmers, grain buyers, saloonkeepers, a hardware merchant, a hotel operator, a farm machinery dealer, and a laundry operator. These businesses were at various locations within the state of Washington, although some appear to be from locales outside this region.

Conditions Governing Access note

This collection is open for research use.

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

The miscellaneous account books which comprise this collection of business records were acquired by the Washington State University Library from various sources over a forty year period. Most items can be identified by type of business, place, or date, but the names of the small firms and proprietorships whose operations are recorded are not fully clear. Accordingly, the records cannot be treated in the same manner as most manuscript materials which are identified by creator, but require description according to content.

Processing Information note

This collection was processed by Lawrence Stark in February and March 1975.

Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

Subject(s)

General note

To some degree, these items are more properly regarded an three-dimensional museum objects than as manuscripts. That is to say, their form is of more interest than their contents. Nevertheless the records are not simply surviving specimens of l9th century bookkeeping, but also contain documentation of historic matters. This documentation is not simply of the small businesses which created the records, but, in some cases, of the communities in which they were located. For instance, the records of an unidentified general merchant in Vancouver, Washington contains many accounts with military personnel and may give some idea of the way of life among the professional military in the 1870s. In another case, the records of a grain dealer on the Snake River in Southeastern Washington contain actual documentation of events in the wheat trade which are otherwise little documented, despite the easy availability of gross statistical data about this trade.